I’ve been looking around at a lot of websites recently that yell about how hard project management is, how difficult it is to figure out. They talk about the complex processes, the confusing techniques, and the baffling methods.

The truth is, though, that project management isn’t difficult. No, really, it isn’t.

At the most basic level, all project management needs is a fairly logical mind, and an ability to keep an eye on what is happening. That’s it. You use the logical mind to figure out what needs to happen, and in what order, and then, once you’ve assigned the work, you keep an eye on it to make sure it does.

Of course, that’s not to say project management can’t be complicated, but that’s a different thing to difficult. The basics above will serve you fine for the smallest projects, but as the projects themselves get more complicated, so do the techniques you need to use to keep on top of them.

Unfortunately, that means a lot of people jump straight into learning a large, cumbersome, and over-the-top project management methodology, complete with its own particular terms and way of approaching a project. While you may need to know these things later, they’re not what you should start with straight away.

The best thing to do is to gain a solid understanding of the foundations of project management, the reasons why project managers do what they do, not just the how. The reasons for doing something will always be more useful to you than just one view of how to do it.

By learning why, you’ll be able to tailor your approach to differing situations. By learning why, you won’t be one of those dreaded project managers that apply one methodology in full, regardless of whether it’s appropriate. By learning why, you’ll be a better project manager.